Peninsula unemployment soars

Clallam and Jefferson counties’ unemployment rates rose dramatically during January compared with December’s, Washington State Employment Security’s monthly report shows.

Clallam County closed January with a 9.2 percent unemployment rate, while Jefferson County saw 8.3 percent, the report released Tuesday shows.

That compares with Clallam County’s December rate of 8.2 percent and Jefferson County’s 6.6 percent.

Washington’s January unemployment rate of 6.6 percent dropped four-tenths of a percent over December’s 7.0 percent.